Two shows were top on our Yuletide list and Burna Boy’s Christmas day performance was not originally part of it. However, my wife and daughters were keen. Majority rules in our house and I caved in. I made arrangements for six tickets, including one for my driver, who was just as ardent about the show.

In the past, I normally would purchase table tickets for astronomical sums as my humble way of going the extra mile to support our own but for some reason this time, I simply opted for alternative tickets much lower in price compared to table seating. My intuition was rewarded when on arrival, it turned out that tickets had been oversold. There were no seats for a significant number of people. Worse, the available seats were not numbered. A free for all show down was inevitable and the scene descended into chaos. In fact, getting into the venue in the first place- Eko hotel convention centre was the first sign of trouble.

By the time the African giant came on stage at past midnight with a performance for the ages, the only way to catch a glimpse of him was to stand on chairs. Decorum be damned, I hopped on mine like everyone else. It was an electric performance. Burna Boy dazzled with a stage command fit for a Grammy performance! The skirmishes of getting in, finding a seat and standing on chairs were momentarily forgotten as the crowd danced and sang along. His rendition of Fela Anikulapo Kuti”s protest song on social inequality and injustice was particularly stirring. His act fulfilled all the things I look out for in any outing I decide to attend – a masterful fusion of entertainment and enlightenment. He delivered!

In the heat of the performance a scuffle broke out in the high end section of the hall reserved for the million Naira paying audience with tables. Punches flew and landed on bodies. My initial presentiments about safety and security in these shows returned and I instinctively turned to ensure my wife and teenage daughters beside me were alright. A sane man, thinking on his feet hastily tried to clear the bottles on the tables as an enraged heavy chested bully reached for one. It was all downhill from there.
I could not help but sympathise with those who went out of their way to support the outing by paying for tables that ranged from N2m to N5m as their view became obstructed with fist fights. Nor was it hard to miss the distraction the ensuing fiasco wrought upon the performer we all came to see as his gyrations faltered and his troubled eyes wandered across the hall. So much so that his mother, who was present in the room had to discreetly make her way to the back of the hall to have some words with security.

Here is my message, Dear Lagos concert organisers, please take your audience as seriously as we take you! Our artists have placed us on the global map. They have done so much for Nigeria’s image, as I have noted in a previous article. We see them, we hear them and we reciprocate by coming out to celebrate and support them. We should be treated with as much respect by the organisers. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, including something as basic as signs pointing to the restrooms so that people do not have to wander around the premises trying to figure out where to relieve themselves.

MORE:: https://www.theculturenewspaper.com/lagos-concerts-accidents-waiting-to-happen/